At UNM Admissions is divided in International Admissions, and “normal” Admissions.
It seems to make sense, but does it?
I am born and raised in the Netherlands, and of course I did all my school before UNm in the Netherlands, ergo I must be an International student. But wait: Over 5 years ago I moved to Albuquerque, which makes me all of a sudden domestic, even an in-state student. Confused? I am! As I am a permanent resident of New Mexico I am a domestic student. As all of my diplomas and certificates from before UNM are Dutch, the domestic people of UNM’s Admissions have no clue and need advice from UNM’s International Admissions.
One of the things I started to realize along the way was that I just knew that I wasn’t the first person who had to figure everything out by himself. Through the years UNM’s Admissions gave me different stories, and nobody could really tell me where to go. When I talked to a faculty member who was from Germany I got even confirmed that different Admissions people will tell you different things. At one point I finally got some useful advice: First I was told that I needed to translate all my Dutch diplomas and certificates and have these translations verified, and after that I needed to get evaluated by an organization which was a member of the “American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers” (AACRAO). As I have in-laws living in Los Angeles I chose to go with “International Education Research Foundation” (IERF), which turned out a big mistake. IERF turned out to in my opinion take shortcuts, and only recognize the most obvious diplomas. They simply claimed that the rest was short-term courses meant for professional development only. Thinking back of it I think I should have gone with an organization at the east coast instead where they’re more familiar with European education.
The most horrible thing was even when I found out that even the few diplomas that were recognized by IERF didn’t get me any credits at UNM Admissions. Because I had not heard anything from Admissions I dropped by after a few months, and after I only told the lady my name her response was: “O my God.” Apparently my name was well known at admissions, which didn’t feel like a good sign to me.
The mere fact that I had to find out every step by myself, while I am pretty sure that I am not the first person who comes to UNM with international diplomas and certificates, gives me the feeling like they say in Holland that I am inventing the wheel: It must have been done by others before me. I think that even at International Admissions people don’t realize enough that foreigners are not familiar with the American education system and have no clue where to go or what to do. I think it would be welcomed when UNM would make and issue a small manual for international students, which would contain a step-by-step plan for the students what to do. If UNM already has one, then International Admissions surely knows how to hide it.
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2 comments:
Wow I had no idea about that! I think it is terribe that you had to go through all that. I knwo UNM admissions gives the "run around" from personal experience, but I agree with you that this is way out of line. I'm looking foward to hearing more about it!
Your comments reminded me of the recent flap over a disparaging comment made on an episode of "Desperate Housewives." Apparently one of the characters questioned her doctor's abilities by asking if his medical diploma was from a Filipino college. Both your comments and those of the TV show's writers present the rampant Ameri-centric views of this country. Despite test scores that put us to shame in the international community, we think that foreign schools are automatically inferior.
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